INTERNATIONAL COLUMN By Michel Torbey, Immediate Past President; Chair, Global Partners Committee
During the annual meeting in Hawaii, we
welcomed our two new board members,
Dr. Pedro Kurtz and Dr. Kwang-Soo Lee,
representing our South American and Asian
regional chapters, respectively. They will be
working closely with our global partners to
coordinate our efforts to promote neurocritical
care in the region.
The Neurocritical Care Society was well represented at the World
Federation of Societies of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine
(WFSICCM) and the World Federation of Critical Care Nurses
(WFCCN) meeting in Brazil. Several NCS leaders and board
members, including Gretchen Brophy, Michel Torbey, Gene Sung,
Susan Yeager, Sara Livesay, Kiwon Lee, Pedro Kurtz and Tiffany
Chang presented on different neurocritical care topics. During the
meeting, NCS’ South American Chapter met to discuss our how
to promote multidisciplinary collaboration in neurocritical care.
It was energizing to see all the dedication of our South American
colleagues in growing neurocritical care. At the WFSICCM
meeting, Gene Sung was elected a council member to the board of
WFSICCM. In addition, Susan Yeager was elected to the board of
directors of WFCCN. Please join me in congratulating both Gene
and Susan on representing NCS at the international scene. This is
an amazing accomplishment.
The first NCS South American regional meeting just concluded
in Quito, Ecuador. The meeting was a great success thanks to
the efforts of Dr. Nelson Maldonado and an amazing team of
collaborators from South America. The meeting covered a full
range of neurocritical care topics including a pre-meeting in the
Galapagos to develop a white paper discussing neurocritical care
needs in South America. In addition, during the meeting, NCS
launched its first ENLS in Spanish. More than 100 participants
attended the course. The feedback was very positive. This will
set the stage for a significant expansion in ENLS offerings in the
region. The ENLS Spanish translation was a monumental
task. Jose Suarez and our South American Chapter leaders
were instrumental in this process.
Please mark your calendar for our joint meeting with
DGNI in Wurzburg, Germany, Feb. 8-10, 2018: http://
www.neurocriticalcare.org/Meetings/2018-Joint-
Meeting-Würzburg-Germany. The meeting will focus on
prognostication in the neurocritical care unit. We will
also be offering ENLS for the first time in Europe.
Last but not least, I would like to congratulate Dr. Leo de Oliveira
Manoel from Sao Paulo, Brazil, on his successful completion of his
PhD His research focused on functional outcome after poor grade
subarachnoid hemorrhage. Leo has done the research during his
fellowship in Toronto and now is leading those efforts in Sao Paulo.
Looking forward to a productive year working with our
global partners.
Sincerely yours,
Michel Torbey
Immediate Past President of NCS
Chair, Global Partners Committee
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